05 October 2026
The post-mortem of the All Blacks' 3-1 series drubbing in South Africa has taken a hilariously predictable turn, with New Zealand coach Dave Rennie taking to the airwaves to offer his latest collection of excuses.
Speaking Saturday on "Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Sport with Jason Pine", Rennie launched into a passionate, teardrop-stained critique of the Springboks' scrumming masterclass. Rather than addressing his pack’s inability to anchor against the world champions, the Kiwi mastermind decided it was much easier to blame the rulebook and accuse South African front rowers of unlawful angling.
According to Rennie, the terrifying sight of the Bok bomb squad obliterating the All Black line-up isn't a display of sheer power, but rather a structural conspiracy. He claimed that the host nation's dark arts left his pack entirely helpless against a sideways shove.
"We just felt that the South African tightheads are on a 45-degree angle immediately, and then they’d walk sideways," Rennie told Pine. "It’s really hard for our loosehead to stay in front of a tighthead who is shearing in."
The veteran coach pleaded with World Rugby to aggressively slash and burn their complex laws, uniquely targeting the modern "brake foot" rule for ruining the referee's weekend. Rennie expressed immense frustration that the rule suddenly appeared out of thin air to disrupt his team's rhythm.
"There was a meeting about the shape of the game with World Rugby and the brake foot was never mentioned but then all of a sudden it comes in," he said. Referees now routinely penalise a hooker whose heel is not down, and Rennie sees absolutely no practical value in that: "Supposedly, it’s gonna stop 800 kilos behind you if you have your heel down. And I think it made it harder for the referee."
Naturally, South African rugby fans and local pundits have greeted this latest bout of Kiwi bellyaching with absolute delight. While Rennie admitted there is "a lot of personal interest or self-interest" at those administrative meetings, the Kiwis still desperately cling to the belief that the All Blacks can compete with the Boks at scrum time.
"Under the current framework, we definitely can," Rennie added, before offering a final parting instruction to the governing body. "That’s the challenge we’re sending to World Rugby: let’s simplify things. Let’s give the referees less to think about and look at, and just concentrate on keeping the scrum square."